This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Automotive vehicles typically include an internal combustion engine defining one or more cylinders. The engine includes intake valves for controlling inlet charge into the cylinders and exhaust valves for controlling the flow of exhaust gases out of the cylinders. The engine assembly further includes a valve train system for controlling operation of the intake and exhaust valves. Commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 9,032,922 discloses a camshaft assembly for controlling the motion of the intake and exhaust valves of an internal combustion engine. The camshaft assembly includes a base shaft extending along a longitudinal axis, lobe packs mounted on the base shaft, and a plurality of actuators for axially moving the lobe packs relative to the base shaft. Each of the lobe packs includes a plurality of cam lobes. The axial position of the lobe packs relative to the base shaft can be adjusted in order to change the valve lift profile of the intake and exhaust valves. It is useful to adjust the valve lift profile of the intake and exhaust valves depending on the engine operating conditions. To do so, the lobe packs that control the movement of the exhaust and intake valves can be moved axially relative to the base shaft. Actuators, such as solenoids, can be used to move the lobe packs axially relative to the base shaft. In particular, the lobe pack can include a control groove. The actuator of the camshaft assembly includes an actuator body and at least one pin movable coupled to the actuator body. The pin can move relative to the actuator body between a retracted position and an extended position. The axially movable lobe pack can move axially relative to the base shaft when the base shaft rotates about the longitudinal axis and the pin is in the extended position and at least partially disposed in the control groove. The present disclosure provides an improved control groove design to minimize actuator pin to shifting groove wall impact force and thereby reducing pin failures.